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An independent investigator has determined that seven former faculty members of an elite area prep school sexually abused students.

The Hotchkiss School, a boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut near the New York border, issued an apology after the findings became public.

"We have read the report with heavy hearts, as it describes multiple instances of Hotchkiss students being abused by teachers or staff members, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s," said Jean Weinberg Rose, president of Hotchkiss' Board of Trustees, and Craig W. Bradley, Head of School, in a statement. "To the survivors of abuse, we apologize from the bottom of our hearts.

"The school did not live up to its commitment to protect you. We apologize with humility -- understanding that words cannot measure our sadness and regret or erase the harm that you endured.

"You were terribly hurt, and we can only hope to make amends by caring for you now and doing everything within our power to ensure that students now and in the future will be cared for and safe."

Interviews were conducted with more than 150 individuals, including alumni and current and former faculty, staff, and trustees.

The seven ex-faculty members who sexually abused students between 1969 and 1992 are:

Leif Thorne-Thomsen: Classics teacher from 1964 to 1992

Christopher Carlisle (deceased): English teacher from 1963 to 1982

George "Rick" DelPrete: Athletic director, head football coach and history teacher from 1970 to 2004

Peter Gott, M.D. (deceased): Medical director from 1972 to 2005

Albert Sly (deceased): Choral director, organist and music teacher from 1950 to 1970 and 2008